WIREDGOV

Members of PCS working for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) have overwhelmingly voted for industrial action short of a strike in a dispute over low pay, it was announced yesterday.

Just over 81% of members taking part in the ballot voted for the action short of a strike which will see members withdrawing from non essential 999 emergency duties which includes:

• Issuing of fishing vessel certificates.
• MCA information line, hitting out of hours information given to the public and shipping companies.
• Production of end of month returns and incident reports, hitting the information and statistics made available for  ministers.
• Processing of seafarer documents

The yes vote for action short of a strike follows members' resounding rejection of a below inflation cost of living increase, which averages just 2.5% for many and penalises the most experienced staff with pay increases of less than 1%. The row over pay has rumbled on since the settlement date of August last year.

Members are also angry that management have ignored the findings of pay comparison exercises carried out towards the end of last year which have supported the union's claim for comparability with other 999 services.

Commenting, Paul Smith, PCS negotiations officer for the MCA, said: "Members have demonstrated their anger over management's refusal to negotiate by voting overwhelmingly for action short of a strike. This unprecedented vote illustrates the sense of betrayal that key emergency service workers feel, not only about a below inflation pay offer, but also about the total disregard of the pay comparison evidence with other 999 services.  Management can avoid damaging industrial action by negotiating seriously and offering decent pay to those who deliver a vital emergency service."

Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, added: "The basic coastguard grade is paid barely above the minimum wage at £5.37 an hour for a 42 hour week. It is completely unacceptable that people, providing an essential emergency service are expected to take a pay cut in real terms. Below inflation pay is an increasing problem across the civil service and as the massive show of support for Mayday's civil service strike demonstrated, it is a problem that civil service management and the government cannot continue to ignore. MCA pay highlights the urgency of the union's national campaign against real term pay cuts, job cuts and privatisation and the need for civil service management and the government to begin addressing the concerns of its own workforce."